


Company

by pencilguin



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Fluff, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:34:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28898991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pencilguin/pseuds/pencilguin
Summary: A quiet, sleepy moment during their long-distance relationship.
Relationships: Hugh Culber/Paul Stamets
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27
Collections: USS Spaceboos ficlets and snippets





	Company

**Author's Note:**

> I think this is the last old ficlet from Discord for now? The last I'm comfortable with sharing at least. As usual, it's unbeta'd. I'm working on some new stuff, but it's a slow process... 
> 
> I'm also aware that I've written something similar to this before. But I also don't think there's an upper limit to the amount of soft Culmets moments one can think about, so. :D Enjoy!

“Hey, mind if I take you into bed?”

With an amused smile Hugh responds, “What?”

“Sorry, it’s been one hell of a day and I think I really need to lie down, but I wanna keep talking to you.”

His smile softens. “Sure.”

Paul returns it in kind. “Thanks, Hugh.”

Hugh props his own PADD up on the counter and continues to put his dinner together, even though the screen has turned to show nothing but the ceiling of Paul’s apartment on Deneva, lightyears away and only dimly illuminated by the lights on late evening setting.

“Keep talking; I’m just getting ready for bed,” comes Paul’s voice from somewhere off-screen.

So Hugh continues the recount of his day at work while Paul takes a quick shower (on the quietest sonic setting, and he must’ve turned up the volume of his PADD to carry over the sound because Hugh can hear the echo of the mic picking up his own voice from the speakers), changes into his pajamas and brushes his teeth; taking breaks in between to eat his dinner and giving Paul time to respond occasionally. Eventually Paul picks the PADD back up and returns into view, looking refreshed but also ready to fall asleep very soon and with his hair a little messy and unstyled.

It’s a lovely sight.

“Alright, sorry. Now you’ve got my full attention back. So, what did Tracy tell him?”

As Hugh continues, Paul climbs into bed, lying down on his side with the PADD still in hand, smiling sleepily at Hugh. He makes no indication of wanting to end their call, but even so Hugh suspects that he won’t last long. His eyelids get visibly heavier and his gaze loses focus on occasion, his responses become slower and more monosyllabic. Yet the sweet smile on his face remains, the one he wears so often when all of his attention is only on Hugh.

And so it’s no surprise when, just as he was about to get to the big twist of today’s final “story from medical” an, if not loud, but still pronounced snore comes from the other side of the screen. He pauses to watch Paul for a few moments; his eyes have definitely fallen shut and his mouth is slightly open, his breaths are even. After what Paul’s recounted of his day in the lab, it was only a matter of time until he was gonna be out like a light, Hugh could tell that right away.

And still he decided to spend as much of his waking time as possible with Hugh. That thought makes him smile again.

Another minute or two later, the PADD slips out of Paul’s hand at last and lands on the bed, sadly causing him to disappear out of view. Hugh sighs a little wistfully and goes about the rest of his evening on his own, although he keeps the call open. Eventually he retreats into bed himself, but props his PADD up on the nightstand to listen to the cute little snores on the other end as he drifts off to sleep, thinking about the day when they’d finally fall asleep right next to each other.

When Paul wakes up the next morning, he’s a little embarrassed to realize that he fell asleep with the PADD in bed — and in the middle of Hugh talking to him, no less.

But when he picks it up from the mattress where it had landed face down, he finds the connection still open, and the PADD placed on Hugh’s nightstand and angled so that he can see him sleeping peacefully. The sight simply melts his heart, and his biggest regret is that he can’t reach through the screen right now to kiss him, snuggle up to him and wrap his arms around him.

As he climbs out of bed to get ready for the day, he takes the PADD with him, determined to enjoy Hugh’s long-distance company for as long as he can.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thank you so much to everyone who leaves lovely and supportive comments on my fics! Even if I usually don’t know how to adequately respond to them, please be assured that they make me super happy and brighten my day! <3


End file.
